Then he looked back at me.
The disgust returned, sharper than before.
"No sugar. Add arsenic. Poison yourself and be done with it."
He slammed the door on his way out.
I watched the wood vibrate in the frame.
A strange sense of relief washed over me.
*Arsenic?*
If it offered a release from this, it wouldn't be such a bad prescription.
The next morning, violent vibrations jolted me awake.
Someone was pounding on the door.
Isabella.
She stood in the doorway wearing my silk robe, holding the bowl of bird's nest soup I'd prepared the night before.
"Big Sister, this soup smells disgusting. Are you trying to murder your husband?"
Her lips moved in exaggerated motions, her face twisted in mock horror.
Before I could react, she splashed the bowl's contents directly into my face.
Sticky. Cold. The liquid dripped down my hair, pasting my eyelashes together.
I didn't flinch.
Didn't even wipe it off.
Just stared at her. Dead-eyed.
My silence enraged her.
"Why are you pretending to be so high and mighty? Do you think Joshua still loves you?" She stepped closer, her face contorting. "He held me all night. He called me 'baby.' He told me you're like a dead fish—just looking at you kills his appetite."